A CNA article today announces the priest who identified the alleged apparitions of the BVM is now leaving the priesthood and his religious order. The authorized his defrocking in March. Also disturbing are the reports that some of the seers are living in wealthy conditions, presumably derived from monies given by pilgrims. See the brief Mail Online article. The Telegraph tells more…
In communion with Our Lady of Mount Carmel help us,
dear Lord, to arrive at last at the mountain which is Christ who lives and
reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit.
Father Paul Wattson, the founder with Mother Lurana White, of the Franciscan Friars and Sisters of the Atonement, gave hundreds of sermons, conducted numerous retreats, delivered many radio addresses and wrote extensively in four magazines: The Pulpit of the Cross, The Lamp, The Candle and The Antidote.
The following piece is Father Wattson’s commentary on the feast of Our Lady of the Atonement. This Marian feast was approved by the Holy See in 1946 but it was first observed in July 1901.
The theological datum on atonement and therefore mercy, is near-and-dear to the heart of the Church and indeed to all Christians, so today’s feast is apt. Let us pray for each other!
I am writing this letter on the day which we are accustomed to observe at Graymoor in special honor of Our Lady of the Atonement. This particular name of Our Blessed Mother is very dear to us and we believe it is dear to Our Lady herself. We hold it as among the most treasured and sacred traditions of our Institute that it was the Blessed Virgin who first taught us to call her by that name and there are cogent reasons why she should give this title a favorite place among the many by which she is invoked.
First among these reasons must be her own devotion to the mystery of the Atonement, for it was by the death of her son on the Cross, which cost him the last drop of his blood and made her preeminently the mother of sorrows, that the wall of division between God and man was broken down and both were made one (Ephesians 2:14), through Christ’s atoning sacrifice.
As the Blessed Virgin is inseparably associated with our divine redeemer in the mystery of his incarnation, so is she closely associated with him in the great act of the atonement. Thus, is she always represented in the Gospel and in the liturgy and thought of the Catholic Church as standing by the cross, when Christ was crucified there.
There is a second reason, hardly less weighty than the first, why the title, Our Lady of the Atonement, should powerfully appeal to the mother of God. It was through the Incarnation she become the mother of Christ, but through the atonement she became the new Eve and the mother of all the regenerate, who being redeemed by the precious blood are predestined to eternal life as the adopted sons of God and heirs of the Kingdom of Heaven. The third time Our Lord spoke upon the cross it was to emphasize this phase of the Atonement, when he said to his mother: “Woman, behold your son,” and to St. John, “Son, behold your mother.” [John 19:26-27] Thus by virtue of the atonement Mary is the mother of all who live through Christ. Can anyone therefore possibly conceive the depth of significance this title “Our Lady of the Atonement” must possess for Our Blessed Mother herself?
But someone will ask, if so highly esteemed, why should it be kept hidden for nineteen hundred years, to be made known to the faithful in the twentieth century? Is it not the custom even of earthly mothers to preserve the choicest
fruits in the summer time and hide them away under lock and key, to bring them forth to their children’s delight in the depth of winter and did not the master of the wedding feast say to the bridegroom at Cana,
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Every man at first brings forth good wine and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse. But you have kept the good wine until now. [John 2:10] |
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“My ways are not your ways,” [Isaiah 55:8] says the Lord of Hosts. (The Lamp, August 1919, pp.503-4) |
Rejoice we all in the Lord, as we keep festival in honor of
the Blessed Virgin Mary: whose solemnity makes angels joyful and sets them
praising the Son of God. Joyful the thoughts that well up from my heart, I
shall speak of the works of the King
Mother of Perpetual Help,
with the greatest confidence
we come before your holy picture
to be inspired by the example of your life.
We think of you at that moment when,
full of faith and trust,
you accepted God’s call
to be the mother of his Son.
Help us, your children,
to accept with joy our own calling in life.
When you learned that your cousin Elizabeth was in need
you immediately went to serve her
and offer your help.
Help us, like you,
to be concerned for others.
We think of you, Mother,
at the foot of the cross.
Your heart must have bled
to see your Son in agony.
But your joy was great
when he rose from the dead,
victorious over the powers of evil.
Mother of Sorrows,
help us through the trials and
disappointments of life.
Help us not to lose heart.
May we share with you and your Son
the joy of having courageously faced up
to all the challenges of life.
Amen.
Pope John Paul II, in his Angelus Address of July 2, 1989
said:
“The Spirit molded the Heart of Jesus in the womb of Mary, who
collaborated actively with him as mother and educator. As mother, she adhered
knowingly and freely to the salvific plan of God the Father…. As educator, she
had molded the Heart of her son; with Saint Joseph she introduced him to the
traditions of the Chosen People, inspired in him a love for the Law of the
Lord, communicated to him the spirituality of the ‘poor of the Lord.’ She had
helped him to develop his intellect and exercised a sure influence in the
formation of his character. …Therefore we can truly say: in the Heart of Christ
there shines forth the wonderful work of the Holy Spirit; in it there is also
reflected the heart of his Mother. May every Christian heart be like the Heart
of Christ: obedient to the Spirit’s action and to the Mother’s voice.”
Have you thought much about the terrific connection between the Blessed Mother and the Holy Spirit? There is an ever stronger interest in my heart that is building in me to experience more fully this intimacy, this desire of the Lord that is known in the heart of Mary. I mentioned it the other day by suggesting using some of the mysteries of the rosary to allow us to consider that intimacy between the Divine and the human. The Pope gave the follow meditation yesterday evening, the Vigil of Pentecost:
I greet all of you with affection at the end of the
traditional Marian vigil that concludes the month of May in the Vatican. This
year it has acquired a very special value since it falls on the eve of
Pentecost. Gathering together, spiritually recollected before the Virgin Mary,
contemplating the mysteries of the Holy Rosary, you have relived the experience
of the first disciples, gathered together in the room of the Last Supper with
“the Mother of Jesus,” “persevering and united in prayer”
awaiting the coming of the Holy Spirit (cf. Acts 1:14). We too, in this
penultimate evening of May, from the Vatican hill, ask for the pouring out of
the Spirit Paraclete upon us, upon the Church that is in Rome and upon the
whole Christian people.
The great Feast of Pentecost invites us to meditate upon the
relationship between the Holy Spirit and Mary, a very close, privileged,
indissoluble relationship. The Virgin of Nazareth was chosen beforehand to
become the Mother of the Redeemer by the working of the Holy Spirit: in her
humility, she found grace in God’s eyes (cf. Luke 1:30). In effect, in the New
Testament we see that Mary’s faith “draws,” so to speak, the Holy
Spirit. First of all in the conception of the Son of God, which the archangel
Gabriel explains in this way: “The Holy Spirit will descend upon you and
the power of the Most High will overshadow you” (Luke 1:35). Immediately
afterward Mary went to help Elizabeth, and when her greeting reached
Elizabeth’s ears, the Holy Spirit made the child jump in the womb of her
elderly cousin (cf. Luke 1:44); and the whole dialogue between the two mothers
is inspired by the Spirit of God, above all the “Magnificat,” the
canticle of praise with which Mary expresses her sentiments. The whole event of
Jesus’ birth and his early childhood is guided in an almost palpable manner by
the Holy Spirit, even if he is not always mentioned. Mary’s heart, in perfect
consonance with the divine Son, is the temple of the Spirit of truth, where
every word and every event are kept in faith, hope and charity (cf. Luke 2:19,
51).
We can thus be certain that the most Sacred Heart of Jesus,
in his whole hidden life in Nazareth, always found a “hearth” that
was always burning with prayer and constant attention to the Holy Spirit in
Mary’s Immaculate Heart. The wedding feast at Cana is a witness to this
singular harmony between Mother and Son in seeking God’s will. In a situation
like the wedding feast, charged with symbols of the covenant, the Virgin Mary
intercedes and, in a certain sense, provokes, a sign of superabundant divine
grace: the “good wine” that points to mystery of the Blood of Christ.
This leads us directly to Calvary, where Mary stands under the cross with the
other women and the Apostle John. Together the Mother and the disciple
spiritually taken in Jesus’ testament: his last words and his last breath, in
which he begins to send out the Spirit; and they take in the silent crying out
of his Blood, poured out completely for us (cf. John 19:25-34). Mary knew where
the blood came from: it was formed in her by the work of the Holy Spirit, and
she knew that this same creative “power” would raise Jesus up, as he
promised.
In this way Mary’s faith sustains the faith of the disciples
until the meeting with the risen Lord, and will continue to accompany them even
after his ascension into heaven, as they await the “baptism of the Holy
Spirit” (cf. Acts 1:5). At Pentecost, the Virgin Mary appears again as
Bride of the Spirit, having a universal maternity with respect to those who are
born from God through faith in Christ. This is why Mary is for all generations
the image and model of the Church, who together with the Holy Spirit journeys
through time invoking Christ’s glorious return: “Come, Lord Jesus”
(cf. Revelation 22:17, 20).
Dear friends, in Mary’s school we too learn to recognize the Holy Spirit’s presence in our life, to listen to his inspirations and to follow them with docility. He makes us grown in the fullness of Christ, in those good fruits that the apostle Paul lists in the Letter to the Galatians: “Love, joy, peace, magnanimity, benevolence, goodness, fidelity, meekness, self-control (5:22). I hope that you will be filled with these gifts and will always walk with Mary according to the Spirit and, as I express my praise for your participation in this evening celebration, I impart my Apostolic Benediction to all of you from my heart.
Most Holy and
Immaculate Virgin, Help of Christians, we place ourselves under your motherly
protection. Throughout the Church’s history you have helped Christians in times
of trial, temptation and danger. Time and time again, you have proven to be the
Refuge of sinners, the Hope of the hopeless, the Consoler of the afflicted, and
the Comforter of the dying. We promise to be faithful disciples of Jesus
Christ, your Son, to proclaim His Good News of God’s love for all people, and
to work for peace and justice in our world. With faith in your intercession, we
pray for the Church, for our family and friends, for the poor and abandoned,
and all the dying.
Grant, O Mary, Help of Christians, the graces of which we
stand in need. (mention your intentions. May we serve Jesus with fidelity and
love until death. Help us and our loved ones to attain the boundless joy of
being forever with our Father in heaven. Amen.
Mary, Help of
Christians, pray for us!
Mary, Help of Christians, pray for Belmont Abbey!
Mary, Help of Christians, pray for China!
Mary, Help of Christians, pray for the Salesians of Don Bosco!
Consecration of
the Home to Our Lady, Help of Christians
Most holy Virgin
Mary, appointed by God to be the Help of Christians, we choose you as the
Mother and protectress of our home. Favor us with your powerful protection.
Preserve our home from fire, flood, lightning, storm, earthquake, thieves,
vandals, and every other danger. Bless us, protect us, defend us, keep as your
own all who dwell in this home: protect them from all accidents and
misfortunes, and obtain for them the grace of avoiding sin. Mary, Help of
Christians, pray for us. Amen.
This most Holy Synod [Vatican II] deliberately teaches this
Catholic doctrine and at the same time admonishes all the sons of the Church
that the cult, especially the liturgical cult, of the Blessed Virgin, be
generously fostered, and the practices and exercises of piety, recommended by
the magisterium of the Church toward her in the course of centuries be made of
great moment, and those decrees, which have been given in the early days
regarding the cult of images of Christ, the Blessed Virgin and the saints, be
religiously observed. But it exhorts theologians and preachers of the
divine word to abstain zealously both from all gross exaggerations as well as
from petty narrow-mindedness in considering the singular dignity of the Mother
of God. Following the study of Sacred Scripture, the Holy Fathers, the
doctors and liturgy of the Church, and under the guidance of the Church’s
magisterium, let them rightly illustrate the duties and privileges of the
Blessed Virgin which always look to Christ, the source of all truth, sanctity
and piety. Let them assiduously keep away from whatever, either by word or
deed, could lead separated brethren or any other into error regarding the true
doctrine of the Church. Let the faithful remember moreover that true devotion
consists neither in sterile or transitory affection, nor in a certain vain
credulity, but proceeds from true faith, by which we are led to know the
excellence of the Mother of God, and we are moved to a filial love toward our
mother and to the imitation of her virtues. (Lumen gentium, 67)
…true devotion to our Lady is holy, that is, it leads
us to avoid sin and to imitate the virtues of Mary. Her ten principal virtues
are: deep humility, lively faith, blind obedience, unceasing prayer, constant
self-denial, surpassing purity, ardent love, heroic patience, angelic kindness,
and heavenly wisdom.
Blessed are you, holy Virgin Mary and worthy of all praise. For the sun of justice, Christ our God, was born of you.
